


Shape of The Water

by Wolfy_Queen



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Female Character of Color, Half Mermaid, Love Triangles, Mermaids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-24 17:25:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14360124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfy_Queen/pseuds/Wolfy_Queen
Summary: When she walked in, everyone's head turned. How could they not? She was a transfer student with braids as teal as a tropical lagoon. It's almost to be expected that she turns a few heads and breaks a few hearts.





	1. Year Three

**Author's Note:**

> I AM A MEMBER OF THE HARRY POTTER CULT AND AM PROUD OF IT!!!!!
> 
> China Anne McClain as Tula M'rin
> 
> Idris Elba as Bartholomew M'rin 
> 
> Rest of the Harry Potter cast as Themselves

__

 

_**"He's a Slytherin Tula!"** _

_**"It shouldn't matter which house you're in Harry. The only thing that should matter is what kind of person you are and, more importantly, what kind of person you can be."** _


	2. Playlist

**Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban Album**

**The**   **Little Mermaid Album -** **Alan Menken**

**Young and Beautiful - Lana Del Ray**

_Will you still love me when I got nothing but my aching heart_?

_I know you will, I know you will, I know_ _that you will._

**Run the World (Girls) - Beyonce**

_My persuasion, can build a nation_

_Endless power, our love we can devour_

**No Light, No Light - Florence + The Machine**

_No light, no light in your bright blue eyes_

_I never knew daylight could be so violent_

**Kiss - Prince**

_Ain't no particular sign I'm compatible with,_

_I just want your extra time and your kiss._


	3. Chapter 1

The town of Hogsmeade stood quietly in the rainy September night. But moments later, the peaceful atmosphere was disrupted by two figures arriving via Portkey. One of them, a young girl no older than thirteen, stumbled over her feet due to the unwanted after-effects of Portkey Travel. But before she could tumble to the ground, a strong arm wrapped itself around her waist and held her upright.

"You alright there Tula?"

Tula M'rin opened her eyes to look at her father with a mock bitter expression. "You do this yearly?"

Bartholomew M'rin, an Auror with joint jurisdiction in both England and America did indeed travel via Portkey between the countries on a yearly basis, chuckled dryly. "You get used to it."

Tula grimaced at a headache forming between her eyes. "Now I see why Mom hated long distance Portkey travel..."

The moment she realized what she said, her shoulders drooped, and her eyes drifted towards the ground. Bartholomew noticed his daughter's distress and pulled her raincoat hood up and over her head. "I know, I miss her too."

The thirteen-year-old smiled half-heartedly. After letting her father take her trunk from her, she zipped her raincoat up before following behind. As the two M'rin's made their way through Hogsmeade, the younger's dark brown eyes tried to take in every detail of the town her father spent years telling her about.

"It's everything you said it was."

Bartholomew looked at his daughter over his shoulder before grinning. "Just wait until the Hogsmeade weekends."

He pointed to a pub across the way. "Butterbeers at the Three Broomsticks are the best."

Tula grinned as they continued their way through town. Eventually, the father and daughter came to a carriage being pulled by a creature that looked like a skeletal unicorn with wings. When the teal-haired girl stopped in her tracks, Bartholomew placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Threstals, they only appear to those who've seen death."

The thirteen-year-old's mind instantly went back to her mother's death mere months ago. Knowing exactly what she was thinking, Bartholomew squeezed his daughter's shoulder comfortingly before walking forward and began to gently stroke the bony's creature's nose. "They're peaceful creatures, they're just misunderstood."

That hit a chord with Tula. She knew all too well what it was like to be understood your entire existence. Walking forward, she stood with her father and gently began stroking the threstal's side. Bartholomew smiled at his daughter before nudging her shoulder. "Come on, let's not be late."

The two climbed into the carriage, which moved as soon as the door was closed. Pulling the hood from her head, the teal-haired teen pressed her face against the window and tried to make the landscape out through the heavy rainfall. Bartholomew chuckled at his daughter's antics but stayed silent as the carriage made its way out of Hogsmeade and to the castle he practically grew up in.

When their carriage eventually stopped in front of a bridge, Bartholomew opened the door and hopped out first. After pulling her raincoat's hood back over her head, Tula quickly followed behind. She followed her father about halfway across the bridge before stopping in shock.

She only knew Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from her father's stories and the pictures he kept from his time as a student there, but neither did the school justice. Even in the rain, the colossal structure loomed overhead in an almost daunting matter. If she looked close enough, Tula could see shapes moving in the lamp lit window. Probably the ghosts that featured themselves in Bartholomew's stories.

Said man turned when he realized Tula was no longer following him. He smiled at his daughter's awed expression, remembering the exact same expression being on his face when he saw his former school for the first time.

"Tula."

The teal haired teenager snapped out of her awe before quickly walking to catch up with Bartholomew. Upon walking into the courtyard, Tula saw a woman who seemed to radiate strictness standing in the school's doorway.

Bartholomew smiled at the said woman. "Professor McGonagall."

The woman - McGonagall - nodded in acknowledgment. "Mr. M'rin."

Said man turned to his daughter. "Tula, this is Professor McGonagall, Transfiguration teacher, and Deputy Headmistress."

The thirteen-year-old bowed her head respectively. "It's an honor, Professor."

McGonagall bowed her head back. "The honor is mine Miss M'rin. Come, Professor Dumbledore is expecting you."

The older witch turned and entered the school with the two M'rins following close behind. Once they were inside and making their way up the stairs, Tula marveled at the tall ceilings and occasional ghost flying around. As they passed by a colossal door, Tula could hear chattering coming from the inside.

"Once you are sorted into your house, you will be able to join your classmates for the feast."

The teal haired girl looked back at McGonagall before nodding. The three of them kept walking until they came to a Gargoyle.

"Sherbet Lemon."

Tula's face scrunched up in confusion at the odd apparently password, to which Bartholomew smirked at as they walked up the stairs that led to the Headmaster's office. When McGonagall opened the door, an age-wizened man looked up before smiling kindly. "Welcome back Mr. M'rin."

Bartholomew smiled. "Professor Dumbledore. This is my daughter, Tula."

As the Headmaster turned to look at her, the thirteen-year-old bowed her head in respect as she did with McGonagall. "It's an honor Headmaster."

Dumbledore smiled. "Welcome Miss M'rin and the honor is mine."

He indicated to an old tattered hat on his desk. "This is the Sorting Hat. And I'm sure as your father has told you, we use it to sort our students into their respective houses."

As Tula nodded, McGonagall indicated to the school. "Sit down."

The teal haired teen did as she was told. The hat was set on her head, and the rim of it slid down to cover her eyes.

The Sorting Hat hummed. "Interesting... Very open-minded; you prefer to make your own assessment of things instead of blindly following what people say. Not afraid to go after what you want, much like a Slytherin, but not willing to hurt people for it. And loyal, so loyal to those you hold dear. I know exactly where to put you. _ **HUFFLEPUFF!**_ "

The hat was tugged off her head to reveal the faces of Professor McGonagall, her father, and Professor Dumbledore.

"Well done Miss M'rin. I look forward to seeing how you progress here."

The Headmaster nodded his goodbyes to Bartholomew before leaving his office. McGonagall handed the teal-haired girl a uniform before speaking. "Your trunk will be delivered to the Hufflepuff Dormitory and I will send for a student guide from your house to lead you to the Great Hall."

After Tula took the uniform and smiled her thanks, McGonagall turned and Dumbledore's office.

Bartholomew led his daughter out of the office before looking her dead in the eye. "The teachers have been informed of the trait from your mother's side of the family, and they've all been sworn to secrecy. But that doesn't mean you can't be careful. I know there were people back home you trusted with your secret. But if you can, avoid telling anyone. No matter how much you trust them."

Tula nodded her head. Her mother, Morgan'ahm, was in fact not a witch. She hailed from one of the Mermaid Colonies that lived off the American East Coast. She and Bartholomew met when they both happened to be visiting the same wizarding village. They fell in love, married each other, and the rest is history.

Therein making Tula a child of two worlds; half-mermaid, and half-witch.

"I'll be careful Dad. Promise."

Bartholomew nodded before a playful look entered his eyes. "You know that boys are completely out of the question, correct?"

Tula's jaw dropped. "Dad!"

The elder M'rin man shook his head in mock seriousness. "While I would like grandchildren one day, I will murder any boy who comes near you."

The thirteen-year-old slapped a hand to her face. "Oh, dear Neptune..."

"And trust me they will never find the body."

She rolled her eyes fondly as footsteps coming up the stairs caused the M'rins to turn and see Professor McGonagall coming up the stairs with a boy a couple of years older than Tula following behind.

"Miss M'rin this is Cedric Diggory, he will be your student guide. Mr. Diggory, this is Tula M'rin, our transfer student from America."

Cedric smiled kindly. "Hello."

The thirteen-year-old smiled back. "Hi."

Remembering the conversation she just had with her father, the teal-haired girl looked at him at of the corner of her eye with a smirk. Bartholomew gave her a not amused look before squeezing her shoulder. "Take care Tula."

Tula nodded and smiled. "I will, promise."

With one last squeeze of the shoulder, Bartholomew said goodbye to Professor McGonagall, gave Cedric a blank look - much to the boy's confusion - and began walking back down the hall towards the entrance hall.

The older Hufflepuff boy smiled at the teal-haired girl. "Let's get you to a bathroom so you can change."

McGonagall nodded. "You're in good hands Miss M'rin, I will see you both in the Great Hall."

As she went back into Dumbledore's office - probably to retrieve the Sorting Hat - Tula followed Cedric down the stairs and to the nearest bathroom. Once she was changed, the two made their way to the Great Hall.

"McGonagall said you transferred from America?"

Tula looked at the older boy. "Yeah. My dad's an Auror and joint jurisdiction both here and in America."

Cedric's eyebrows furrowed. "Why the move?"

The thirteen-year-old slowed in her step, the now ever familiar sadness creeping in. "My mother passed away, and both Dad and I needed a change of scenery."

Her guide stopped in his tracks, a guilty expression on his face. "I'm sorry."

Tula shook her head. "Don't be, you had nothing to do with it."

Some of the guilt stayed on Cedric's face as he changed the subject. "So you went to Ilvermony School of Witchcraft then."

While her mother was alive, she was adamant that Tula attended Ilvermorny was mainly due to the fact that it was founded by a No-Maj, and therefore one of the least elitist and most democratic Wizarding school. Morgan'ahm knew that the parents of the students that attended Hogwarts had a tendency to be prejudice, and those tendencies often had a habit of being picked up by their children. And she didn't want her daughter to feel as if she had to be ashamed of her ancestors from the sea.

"Yup."

The guilt was replaced with curiosity. "How's it different from here?"

A smile of fondness crossed Tula's lips at the thought of her old school. "Well for starters, instead of a Sorting Hat we're sorted by the statues of the house's mascot. If a certain statue reacts to you, then that's the house you're sorted in."

Cedric's head tilted to the side. "Really?"

"Yeah, they focus more on what you might do as your future career than they do your personal characteristics."

That was the conversation that went back and forth between the two. Right up until they walked into the Great Hall. All eyes seemed to go to Tula, and the only reason she didn't freeze was that Cedric placed a hand on her shoulder and led her to the Hufflepuff table.

"Don't worry, they'll get bored of you eventually and forget you're even here."

Tula looked at the older boy with a dry expression. "Thanks, Cedric."

He grinned cheekily. "Anytime!"

The teal haired girl looked over the sea of kids, some of who immediately looked away the moment she looked at them. Except one; a boy with platinum blonde hair and pale skin. Tula held his stare, even as she sat down next to Cedric. She raised an eyebrow, to which the platinum blonde smirked at before looking away.

The thirteen-year-old remained quiet as the doors opened and Professor McGonagall walked in followed by a pack of first years. Her silence continued after they were sorted, smiling at the new Hufflepuffs as the choir began to sing. After, Dumbledore walked to the podium and began to speak. "Welcome, Welcome; to another year at Hogwarts. Now I'd like to say a few words before we all become too befuddled with our excellent feast. First, I'm pleased to welcome Professor R.J. Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher. Good luck Professor."

The students clapped as said Professor stood up, nodding graciously. He seemed to have this exhausted air around him, and Tula couldn't place where she's seen it before.

"Second, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, has decided to retire in order to enjoy time with his remaining limbs. Fortunately, I am delighted to announce, that his place will be taken by none other than our own Rubius Hagrid."

Once again, the students clapped for their new Professor, who stood up after McGonagall nudged him with her elbow. After the half-giant sat down, Dumbledore began to speak again. "Thirdly, this year we will be joined by a transfer student from the American institute Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

In an instant, murmurs broke out among the students and once again, all eyes instantly went to her. Including the platinum blond, who she now knew was in Slytherin because of the first years that were sorted into the said house. Cedric placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder as Dumbledore began to speak again. "I expect you all to treat her as you would treat your fellow students here. Finally, on a more describing note, at the request of the Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts will until further notice play host to the Dementors of Azkaban. Until such a time Sirius Black is captured."

Tula's hand tightened into a fist. She read about the guards of Azkaban and honestly didn't know why they weren't classified as demons. _Whoever thought that placing joy sucking demons at a school full of children is an idiot._

"The Dementors will be stationed at every entrance to the Grounds. Now whilst I've been reassured that their presence will not disrupt our day-to-day activities, a word of caution. Dementors are vicious creatures, they will not distinguish between the one they hunt and the one who gets in their way. Therefore I must warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. It is not in the nature of a Dementor to be forgiving."

Tula gritted her teeth. _I thought it once and I'll think it again; whoever thought placing those monsters at a school full of children is an idiot._

"But you know, happiness can be found. Even in the darkest of times."

Dumbledore waved a hand over a candle, extinguishing it.

"When one only remembers to turn on the light."

He waved his hand over the same candle again, igniting it.

"And now, let the feast begin."

The students didn't need to be told twice as food appeared on the previously empty plates. As Tula ate, she noticed her fellow students gaze' had wandered back to her, once again including the platinum blond haired boy.

"First evening here and you're already attracting gentleman suitors."

Tula coughed as her food went down the wrong pipe. The moment her throat was cleared, the teal haired teen punched Cedric's arm. "What the hell man? Blondie's not the only kid staring you know!"

The older boy grinned and raised an amused eyebrow as he rubbed his injured arm. "Malfoy? I was talking about Potter."

The thirteen-year-old looked over to where he indicated just in time to see a raven-haired boy sitting at the Gryffindor Table quickly look away. "Who?"

"The Boy Who Lived? You know about... You-Know-Who yes?"

Tula's face lost some its humor. "Everyone's heard of You-Know-Who."

"Potter is the Boy Who Lived. The boy who defeated You-Know-Who."

The teal haired teen head tilted to the side curiously as she looked back to where the raven-haired boy, Potter, was sitting. Since he was sitting facing her, Tula saw him look up from his plate to see her looking at him this time. Potter stiffened but couldn't seem to look away. After a while of their pseudo-staring contest, the Gryffindor boy was nudged by redhead sitting next to him. When the raven-haired boy quickly looked away, Tula shrugged to herself before looking away herself. When her dark brown eyes went to Cedric, she saw that the older boy was trying to contain his laughter.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh hush."

**-Time Skip-**

Tula followed the rest of Hufflepuff House out of the Great Hall after the feast. And on the way out, she saw both Potter and Malfoy following their own classmates to their dorms. And once again, Malfoy held her stare before smirking and looking away while Potter held her gaze for a few moments before blushing and looking away.

Shaking her head in confusion, the teal haired teen followed her housemates to what looked like past the kitchens and to a little nook that was hidden behind some barrels. The two prefects then turned to look at them. "Unlike the other houses, no password is required to enter. Instead, you have to tap the barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row, in the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff', which will make the lid swing open, exposing a passageway that will lead inside."

The boy prefect spoke next. "However, if the wrong lid is tapped or the wrong rhythm is used, you'll be doused in vinegar and barred access."

As the first years looked at each other nervously, the prefects turned and tapped on the barrel as said. Tula followed her housemates through...

...and was shocked at what she saw.

The common room was round, earthy, low-ceilinged, welcoming, warm, and sunny. There were lots of yellow hangings, burnished copper, and overstuffed sofas and armchairs upholstered in yellow and black. The circular windows provided a vista of rippling grass and dandelions. And under the portrait of the house's founder, Helga Hufflepuff, there was a large, honey-colored, wooden mantelpiece with carvings of badgers on it.

"Woah."

Cedric chuckled. "We have the pride of being 'the coziest common room of them all'."

Tula giggled along with him. As the girls went into their rooms and the boys theirs, Cedric gently placed a hand on the teal haired teen's shoulder. "If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask."

She smiled at the older boy. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Cedric."

He smiled back and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly before turning and heading to the boys' rooms. The teal haired teen looked around the common room one more time before following the rest of the girls to their rooms.

**-Time Skip-**

Tula stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. In the past, both her father and her aunt have said she was the spitting image of her mother, from the shape of her face to the pattern of her bioluminescent markings on her arms. The only real difference that set her apart from her mother was the color of her hair.

Upon first sight, most would assume that Tula's hair was dyed the color of a tropical lagoon. But it was only those closest to her knew the truth. She was born with her teal locks, and it was because of where her mother came from. The East Coast Mermaid Colonies were infamous from their odd colored hair. Before her death, Morgan'ahm's was a vivid sapphire blue.

Her mother had made sure that she had the same amount knowledge of her sea born people as she did her people that walked on the land. Up until the day she died.

Tears welled up in Tula's dark brown eyes at the memory of her beloved mother. Pressing a kiss to what was once her mother's necklace, she let it fall against her chest before turning and walking out of the bathroom, making sure not to wake any of her new roommates.

After she slipped silently into her bed, she stared up at the ceiling, excitement fusing itself to her nerves as she thought of beginning classes tomorrow. But at the same time, nervousness crept into her self-consciousness. Not only would this be the first year she would be without her mother, but without her best friends Killian and Adam as well.

She turned to look at the picture of her and her best friends she put on her nightstand before smiling to herself. _Stay out of trouble you two._

Closing her eyes, Tula hummed an old lullaby her mother sang to her when she was little. Moments later, she was fast asleep.

**Author's Note: I am a member of the Harry Potter cult and I am proud of it!!!!**

**Coming up next; Tula properly meets the Golden Trio and everyone's favorite Platinum Blond Slytherin...**

**Ho boy.**

**Our teal headed girl also makes some surprising new friends who are not canon.**

**Also,** **m** **y OC is a Hufflepuff because A: Her characteristics. And B: there really isn't a lot of Hufflepuff OCs fics out there.**

  
**Also I'm just going to say it now, Cedric and Tula are gonna end up being my BROTP.**

**Tell me what you guys think yeah?**


	4. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I forgot to mention this last chapter, this fic will contain material from both the books and the movies. Mainly because there are some scenes in the books I absolutely love and would have loved to see in the movies and vice versa.**

**Anywho...**

**Onward!**

When Tula woke up the next morning, it took her a moment to realize where she was. Then she remembered she and her father apparating from America, being sorted into Hufflepuff, meeting Cedric, and having pseudo staring contests with two different boys.

_Maybe I'll actually meet them today._

After putting her uniform - which, just like last night, included pants instead of skirts - and robes on, pulling her braids up into a high ponytail, and grabbing her school bag, the teal haired teen walked out to the common room with her new schedule in hand to see Cedric waiting for her, to whom she smiled at. "You know you didn't have to wait for me, right?"

The older boy smiled as they made their way to the Great Hall. "What kind of student guide would I be if I left you to wander by yourself?"

Tula snorted and rolled her eyes. As they passed by the stairs, the half mermaid saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Looking towards the stairs, she saw Potter along with the same red head from last night and a bushy haired girl coming down the stairs. The raven haired boy's eyes met hers, and unlike last night, Tula smiled at the boy. Potter looked startled before shyly/awkwardly smiling back. 

"Aww, you made him blush."

Tula looked at Cedric before playfully shoving him away. "Quiet you."

He grinned as they sat down at the Hufflepuff table before nodding towards the Slytherin table. "So do you plan on giving Malfoy the same treatment?"

The thirteen year old's gaze instantly went to the Slytherin table to see the boy in question sitting among the other Slytherins like a king presiding over his court. His silver-blue eyes met her dark ones for a few short moments before the same smirk from last night slowly spread across his lips before inclining his head in her direction. She raised any eyebrow in slight confusion before smiling back politely, albeit a bit awkwardly though. 

Malfoy turned back to his fellow Slytherins while the teal haired teen turned and looked back at Cedric. The older boy had clearly been watching the entire silent exchange...

And looked like he was trying really hard not to laugh.

Tula rolled her eyes. "Oh hush."

Cedric chortled and held his hands up in surrender. "I didn't say anything.

She shook her head before grabbing a plate and piling food on it. But just before she could dig in, a beautiful barn owl landed next to her with a note that had her name on it between its beak. Taking it, she opened it to see her father's familiar handwriting.

 

 

_This is Athena, she'll be your owl since bubble messaging might not always be possible._  
_-Dad._

"Bubble messaging?"

The half mermaid looked at Cedric as she petted Athena's head, causing the owl to purr happily. "I swim a lot. And since most of the lakes I swim in end up being the habitat of magical creatures, Dad makes me check in every hour on the hour."

Accepting her answer, Cedric turned back to his plate and began eating. Doing the same, she looked around the hall as she did. And something that she noticed was that there were some students from different houses sitting together, but it was only a mixture of the three houses excluding Slytherin. 

Raising an eyebrow at this, Tula turned to the 6th year sitting next to her. "So what's the deal with Slytherin? Why do they seem isolated?"

Cedric looked at said house's table before looking back at the teal haired teen. "Slytherin has a habit of being filled with kids who hold blood status at a very high level. So high that they let it dictate their views and actions."

The thirteen year old's eyebrows furrowed. "My dad was in Slytherin and he turned out just fine."

"I'm not saying that Slytherin is bad Tula, ambition and cunning is a good thing to have. I'm saying that most of the kids are misguided by their parents views of purebloods being superior to any other witch or wizard that isn't a pureblood."

Tula was shocked as she looked back at Slytherin table. "I think I'm finally understanding why my mom wanted me to go to Ilvermorny instead of Hogwarts."

Cedric nudged her shoulder with his. "Hey, like you said, not all Slytherins turn out bad. Merlin himself was a Slytherin, and look at him! And like _I_ said, they're just misguided, that's all."

Casting one more look at the emerald and silver table, the half mermaid went back to eating her breakfast and letting her eyes wander all around the hall. When both the sixteen year old and the thirteen year old were done, Cedric stood up from the table and stretched. "Come on then, your first class in Divination right?"

Tula raised an eyebrow as she stood up, grabbing her bag as she did. "Yeah, you don't have to walk me though, I don't want you to be late."

The older Hufflepuff shook his head. "I have a free period first thing, I'll be fine."

With a shrug of her shoulders, the teal haired teen followed him away from the table and out the Great Hall, noticing Malfoy watching them leave out of the corner of her eye.

As the pair walked through the halls, Tula couldn't help but let her eyes wander around even more. A lot of thimgs were different from her old school, but she could certainly see why her dad loved it here during his time as a student.

"Here we are, North Tower."

The half mermaid grimaced as she looked up. "That's a lot of stairs."

Cedric laughed. "You'll be fine then?"

Tula nodded. "I'm good."

The older boy smiled before squeezing her shoulder reassuringly. "I'll see you for Lunch then."

She smiled back. "See ya then."

The thirteen year old turned and took a deep breath before starting the trek up the stairs. During the trip, Tula could feel the stares of other students poking at her back while students in front of her took quick glances over their shoulder at her. She wanted to say that she wasn't particularly bothered by them, at Ilvermorny, her fellow students were used to her teal locks, sure some first years stared at her, but even they got over it after a while. But here... she couldn't help but feel like an animal in a zoo.

"You'd think that their mothers would have taught them that it's rude to stare."

 

 

She turned to see two Ravenclaws, a boy with brown hair and brown eyes and a girl with raven black hair and brown eyes, watching her with matching semi-amused, semi-annoyed looks on their faces. The girl smiled reassuringly before offering Tula her hand. "I'm Raven Lupin, and this my twin brother, Milo. Lovely to meet you."

She took the offered hand with a smile. And then her mind caught up to what the raven haired girl said. "Lupin? As in-"

Milo smiled as he shook the half mermaid's hand. "The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? Yeah, he's our father. And don't worry about the other students, they'll back off after a while."

Tula smiled as the Lupin Twins flanked her before the three of them continued to make their ways up the stairs. Looking between them, she noticed that unlike her brother, Raven didn't look anything like the new teacher. _Must have taken after her mother._

"Ven! Lo!"

The three turned around to see a girl around the same age racing up the stairs towards them. She had a spark of mischief in her dark brown eyes, and that same mischief could be seen in the grin that was spread across her face. The Lupin Twins looked at the girl with fondness before looking at the teal haired teen. "Tula this is our best friend, Dinah Black."

The girl stepped towards Tula with a slightly wider grin and an offered hand. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance!"

Tula shook the other girl's hand, and the foue of them continued up the steps to the Divination Tower. "I'm-"

If it was possible, Dinah's grin widened. "Tula M'rin, the transfer student from America. Most of the school knows who you are."

The half mermaid sighed before grinning awkwardy. "What gave me away? The American accent or the teal hair?"

Raven, Dinah, and Milo chuckled before the four of them continued their way up the stairs. Eventually the seemingly never ending stairs gave away to a long hallway, at which a classroom sat. Tula let her hopefully three new friends lead her to a table... 

Which just so happened to be the table that was right next to Potter and his friends.

Who, like most the students already in the room, had their eyes locked on the half mermaid.

As she sat down with Dinah and the Lupin Twins, the teal haired teen caught the last bit of their hushed conversation. "-it's rude!"

"He can't help it Hermione, look at her."

'Hermione' scoffed. And since Tula was sitting in the chair closest to the table, she could clearly see the bushy haired girl turn towards her, and looked at her when said girl cleared her throat to get her attention.

"Hello, I wanted to apologize for my friends and everyone else's rudeness."

The teal haired teen smiled before shaking her head. "No worries. With hair like mine, it's probably better to get used to the stares."

The bushy haired girl huffed. "Still, it doesn't take away the fact that it's completely rude."

She directed her gaze to her friends as she said that last part, causing both the red head and Potter to look away. Keeping her hard gaze on them for a while longer, the brunette looked at Tula again before smiling and offering her hand. "Hermione Granger, pleasure to meet you."

The half mermaid smiled widely before taking the offered hand. "Tula M'rin, and the pleasure's all mine."

After the two shook hands, Hermione once again looked at her friends. "The boys with no manners are Ron Weasley and Harry Potter."

Tula snorted before waving at the two. "Hi."

The red head, Ron waved back politely. "Hey."

Harry looked at the mermaid, and his cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "H-Hi."

The teal haired teen raised an eyebrow at his flustered behavior, but chose to say nothing and turned away. Meanwhile, the Lupins Twins looked at the table neighbors and smiled. "Hi Harry."

Said boy looked at Raven and Milo before smiling. "Hey."

At Tula's confused expression, the male twin turned towards her. "Harry, my brother, myself, and our friend Sue, hopefully you'll be able to meet her later, were raised together. Our parents were best friends when they attended school here."

"Gotch ya."

Shortly after everyone sat down, the lesson began, and for the first time since entering the room, the half mermaid noticed a woman wearing glasses that seemed to make her eyes bigger and with hair almost as bushy as Hermione's sitting in a red armchair.

_So that must be Professor Trelawney._

The professor stood up. "Welcome my children. In this room, you will explore the noble art of Divination! In this room, you shall discover if you posses the Sight!"

Professor Trelawney bumped into the table that was in front of her armchair, causing giggles and snickers to ripple across the room. Out of the corner of her eye, Tula noticed the Lupin Twins and Dinah sharing a look, but not one of amusement. Raven and Dinah were raising an eyebrow at Milo, and Milo was shaking his head before holding his hands up in surrender, as if to say 'what other options do I have?'

Turning away from the private/silent conversation, the half mermaid returned her focus back to Professor Trelawney just as said woman began to speak. "I am Professor Trelawney, and together we shall cast ourselves into the future!"

_Welp, at least I've seen more eccentric professors than this._

"Many witches and wizards, talented though they are in the area of loud bangs and smells and sudden disappearings, are yet able to penetrate the veiled mysteries of the future. It is a Gift granted to few."

The professor's larger than life eyes suddenly snapped to an extremely nervous looking boy who almost toppled out of his chair. "You, boy. Is your grandmother well?"

Said boy now looked even more nervous. "I think so..."

"I wouldn't be so sure dear. We will be covering basic methods of Divination this year. The first term will be devoted to reading the tea leaves. Next term we shall progress to palmistry."

Once again, Professor Trelawney's big eyes snapped to an unsuspecting student. "By the way my dear, beware a red-haired man."

Tula covered her mouth to smother the giggles as the girl quickly shot her gaze to Ron before shuffling her chair away.

"In the second term, we shall progress to the crystal ball... If we have finished with fire omens, that is. Unfortunately, classes will be disrupted by a nasty bout of flu. I myself will lose my voice. And around Easter, one of our number will leave us forever."

A very tense silence followed this pronouncement. One that the professor seemed unaware of. "I wonder dear, if you could pass me the largest silver teapot?"

The Gryffindor girl looked relieved as she stood up and took an enormous teapot from the shelf before placing it down on the table in front of Professor Trelawney.

"Thank you my dear. Incidentally, that thing you are dreading... It will happen on Friday the sixteenth of October."

The poor girl started trembling. Tula raised an eyebrow in the teacher's direction. _I get the whole randomly seeing things... But come on, you're making everyone paranoid._

"Now I want you to divide into pairs. Collect a teacup from the shelf, come to me and I will fill it. Then sit down and drink until only the dregs remain. Swill these around the cup three times with the left hand, then turn the cup upside down on its saucer, wait for the last of the tea to drain away, then give your cup to your partner to read. You will interpret the patterns using pages five and six of _Unfogging the Future_. I shall move among you, helping and instructing."

As the Lupin Twins immediately turned towards each other, Dinah turned towards Tula with her usual grin. "Shall we?"

The half mermaid smiled back. "We shall."

The two girls followed the instructions Trelawney gave them. And when the tea in their individual cups were drained, Tula handed her cup to Dinah, and vice versa.

Both girls kept switching between squinting into the tea cups and looking at their textbooks.

"I'm pretty sure that's a sun; so that means happiness-"

"Oh goody."

The half mermaid wrinkled her nose in her partner's direction before looking back into the cup. "But right next to it is a crescent moon, meaning new beginnings and dreams becoming a reality. So... Happiness comes with new beginnings and dreams coming true?"

"You forgot the symbol underneath the two my dear."

Tula looked over her shoulder to see Professor Trelawney looking into Dinah's teacup.

"A falcon... You have a deadly enemy my dear."

The half mermaid looked at Dinah with furrowed eyebrows. _Great enemy? From what I can tell she's too much of a sweetheart to have any 'great enemies'._

 

 

Professor Trelawney's huge eyes drifted down to the cup in Dinah's hand. "And what does your partner's future hold?"

The latter looked down at the teacup, and tried looking at it from different angles, her face scrunching at the effort. "I _think_ that's a cross."

The professor instantly shot her gaze at Tula. "Indeed it is. There is to be trials and suffering in your future my dear... I am so sorry."

When she heard 'trials and suffering', she thought back to her mother's death. Was it a trial to get through? Yeah. Did she suffer those first few months and even a little bit now? Absolutely. And being a half-breed, especially now attending a school where some students seem to favor blood status above all else, definitely wasn't going to be easy either.

Both girls watched Professor Trelawney walk away to a different table after viewing Raven and Milo's progress before turning to said twins. "So what does the future hold for the Lupin twins?"

The female twin pursed her lips before holding up her teacup. "We both had a skull, at least we're pretty sure they're skulls."

The male twin sighed before looking into his. "I also had a cross in mine. So... yay?"

Before anyone from their table could say anything else, loud screeches drew everyone's attention to Hermione, Ron, and Harry's table as Professor Trelawney frantically backed away.

_What the hell happened?_

"M-my dear... you have... _the grim_."

Murmurs immediately broke out through the room.

"Grin? What's the grin?"

" _Grim_ you idiot. Taking the form of a giant spectral dog, it's among the darkest omens in our world. It's an omen of death."

More murmurs broke around the room. When Tula looked at her table mates, she saw two different reactions. The twins looked like they were contemplating something very hard, and Dinah had an almost haunted look in her eyes.

"Dinah?"

She immediately snapped out of her trance and spread her usually grin across her lips. But this time, it looked forced. "I'm fine."

No one was really focused for the remainder of the class. And when they were finally released from the North Tower, almost everyone was all too eager to leave. As they made their ways down the stairs, Raven and Milo argued with each other.

"I told you it would be a waste of time!"

Milo looked at his sister tiredly. "I'm not talking to you about this again."

The boy looked over his shoulder. "Or with you Dinah."

She held her hands up in surrender. "I didn't say anything."

"You were thinking it."

Tula wanted to ask, but decided it was none of her business. When the four of them reached the bottom of the stairs, the Lupin Twins turned towards her with a smile. "What's your next lesson?"

The teal haired teen quickly pulled out her schedule and quickly scanned it. "Erm... Care of Magical Creatures."

Dinah grinned. "Sweet! Me too!"

As she threw her arm around the half mermaid's shoulders, Raven and Milo shook their heads fondly before once again smiling. "It was nice meeting you Tula. If you need anything, just ask."

Tula returned the smiles with one of her own. "I'll keep that in mind, see you guys later."

The Lupin Twins turned away and headed in the opposite direction as Dinah began leading her in the opposite directions towards the grounds, rattling off stories about previous adventures in the castle as they went. When they were outside and walking down the stairs towards a small hut perched on the edge of the forest.

"Dinah? Last night Professor Dumbledore said Professor Hagrid was taking over the Care of Magical Creatures position, what was he before?"

Dinah smiled. "He was the grounds keeper. Don't let his size be intimidating, he's a big teddy bear."

Tula smiled back. "Dully noted."

By the time the two girls made it to the hut, a large group of students had already gathered around with Professor Hagrid directing them. "That's it, come on now. Come closer, a little less talking if you don't mind. I gotta a real treat for you today, a great lesson. Follow me."

The large group of students followed the professor into the forest, and the teal haired teen was hit with nostalgia as the forest looked similar to the one that surrounded her beloved Ivermorny.

"Ugh, great. Malfoy and his cronies are in this class."

Tula looked around and almost immediately spotted the platinum blonde surrounded by two large boys. And as if he could sense her looking at him, Malfoy turned his head and his silver blue eyes met her dark ones. Instantly, a flirty grin spread across his features and he began to saunter towards them. Dinah saw this and quickly grabbed Tula's arm before pulling her further into the group of students until they bumped into Harry, Hermione, and Ron. When the three of them looked at their friend in confusion, she used her head to indicate to the Slytherin. "Malfoy."

The trio looked to where Dinah had indicated and Harry and Ron immediately placed themselves between the girls and their apparent rival, who immediately halted in his pursuit and narrowed his eyes in their direction.

"Tula, you went to Ilvermorny, correct?"

The teal haired teen turned towards Hermione. "Yeah, I was in the Pukwudgie house."

Dinah snickered at the name, causing Tula to shove her playfully. Meanwhile, Hermione instantly perked up. "I read about the houses, Pukwudgie is practically the Hufflepuff of Ilvermorny isn't it?"

"Based on the description the hat gave it, yeah."

For a second time, Dinah threw her arm around the half mermaid's shoulders. "Aww, looks like you're meant to be a kindhearted sweetheart."

The thirteen year old giggled as the group of students entered a clearing and Professor Hagrid started talking. "Right you lot, less chattering. Form a groul over there, and open your books to page fourty-nine."

"Exactly how do we _do_ that?"

Tula looked up just in time to see the professor turn around. "Just stroke the spine of course."

The teal haired teen did just that, and grinned when the book purred and allowed her to open the buckle that kept it shut. She winced when some poor boy missed the message and his book immediately began snapping violently at him. "Poor kid."

Ron sighed. "Yeah, Neville and bad luck are old friends."

Hermione set her bag down on a rock. "I think they're funny."

"Oh yeah, terribly funny."

The four of them turned to see Malfoy staring at them. "God this place has gone to the dogs. Wait until I tell my father that Dumbledore has this oaf teaching classes."

As one of his minions snickered, Harry cast his book bag to the side and stalked forward. "Shut your mouth, Malfoy."

 

 

The platinum blond and his cronies jeered at Harry's response. Handing his bag to minion #2, Draco slowly strutted forward. And just as Harry copied his actions, Tula rolled her eyes before clapping sarcastically, drawing everyone's attention to her as she began walking forward.

"Wow boys, just _wow_. Best male posturing competition I've seen in awhile."

She stopped when she was standing in between both boys and looked at them sharply before either could say anything. "Honestly, you're both third years. You should be setting an example for the younger kids, not measuring the appendage between your legs!"

As Dinah cackled wildly in the background, the half mermaid took a moment to savor the shades of red everyone's faces turned as well as the squawks and yelps of shock that were scattered throughout the crowd. But before anyone could say anything else, a squawking noise that was very much not human made caused everyone to look and see Professor Hagrid leading a large, feathery creature into the clearing.

"Isn't he beautiful? Say hello to Buckbeak!"

Ron stared at the creature in shock. "Hagrid... exactly what is that?!"

"That, Ron, is a Hippogriff."

Tula stared in absolute wonder at the feathery creature. She's heard about them, but she never thought she'd actually see one.

"First thing you want to know about Hippogriffs is that they're very proud creaures. Very easily offended. You do not want to insult a Hippogriff, it may be the last thing you ever do. Now, who would like to say hello?"

Tula surged forward while everyone else quickly shuffled backwards. 

"Well done Harry and Tula, well done."

She looked to her right to see that Potter didn't follow the crowd backwards. Although based on the look on his face, it wasn't on purpose. Shrugging, she began to walk forward, noticing Ron push Potter in order to get him to move.

"Now, you have to let him make the first move, it's only polite. So step up, give him a nice bow, then you wait, and see if he bows back. If he does, you can touch him. If not... well we'll get to that later."

Tula looked at Harry. "Did you want to go first?"

The raven haired boy looked at her before quickly looking away. "I-I can go first if you'd prefer."

She raised an eyebrow at his flustered behavior before shrugging. "Whatever floats your boat."

Harry took a deep breath before taking a few steps forward.

"Make your bow, nice and low now."

The Gryffindor boy did as he was told. Buckbeak squawked loudly and began flapping his wings, which apparently wasn't a good sign.

Professor Hagrid waved him back. "Back off Harry, back off!"

Harry took one step backwards and stepped on a twig. Behind them, Tula heard what sounded like Hermione gasp. And for a moment, the entire clearing was still. And then after what seemed like eternity, Buckbeak bowed to the Gryffindor. Hagrid praised both before throwing the Hippogriff a dead ferret. And just as Harry began to relax, the half giant spoke again. "Right, I think you can go and pat him now."

The half mermaid couldn't help but to silently chuckle to herself at the nervous expression on the raven haired boy's face.

"Go on, don't be shy."

Harry held out his hand before edging forward, apparently a little too quickly because Buckbeack snapped at his hand.

"Nice and slow now."

He edged forward just a tad bit more before the Hippogriff started moving.

"Now let him come to you."

Once again the clearing seemed to be completely still as the Hippogriff began to walk towards Harry. And the moment Buckbeak nudged the Gryffindor's hand with his beak, it seemed that the entire clearing took a deep breath in relief, with the few exceptions of groans of disappointment.

 

 

Professor Hagrid clapped a large hand on Harry's shoulder before looking at her. "Alright Tula, your turn."

When the teal haired teen turned to look at Buckbeak, she was slightly startled to see him already looking at her, head tilted to the side in a confused manner.

_You know I'm half mermaid don't you? Or at least you can tell I'm not entirely human._

Taking a deep breath, the half mermaid bowed to the hippogriff. After a few confused squawks, Tula lifted her eyes upwards to see Buckbeak bowing back to her. Smiling inwardly, the teal haired teen slowly straightened.

"Just like Harry now, nice and slow."

She did as she was told and took small, slow steps towards the Hippogriff. Holding her hand out, she patiently waited for Buckbeak to come to her. Moments later, she wasn't disappointed when the Hippogriff rubbed his beak against her hand. It didn't stop there though, because the large winged creature began to affectionately nip at the braids in her ponytail, causing Tula to giggle.

"Stop that tickles!"

Professor Hagrid and all the students present watched in amazement. "He _really_ likes you, well done Tula!"

Tula grinned triumphantly as Harry rejoined her in petting the Hippogriff. She looked at the raven haired boy before smiling, and said boy blushed lightly before shyly smiling back.

"I think he may let the two of you ride him now."

The two thirteen year old's heads whipped towards the Professor... Harry in shock. "What?!"

And Tula in absolute glee. "Yes!"

Professor Hagrid heaved the two of them up onto Buckbeak's back, Tula first, then Harry.

"Don't pull out any of his feathers, he won't thank you for that!"

Tula made sure her grip was tight enough without the risk of accidently tearing out a few feathers just as Hagrid slapped Buckbeak's flank, sending them off. Harry's arms had wound themselves around her waist as soon as they took off. And once they were up in the air, the half mermaid turned to look at the boy only to see him completely at ease... as if he was at home high up in the air.

"You look comfortable."

Harry looked at her and blushed. "I-I'm on the Quidditch team."

The teal haired teen raised an eyebrow, noticing a look in his eye. Like he had a secret that he wasn't sharing. She should know, she's had that look in her eyes several times before. "So how does this compare to riding a broomstick?"

At this, the Gryffindor boy became a little more confident in speaking. "Well for one, a broomstick isn't a breathing feathery creature that can decide if it doesn't like us and throw us off."

Tula shrugged. "I'll concede to the breathing and feathery part. But Buckbeak won't throw us off, will ya boy?"

The Hippogriff squawked cheerfully in response. The teal haired teen smiled before briefly looking at Harry over her shoulder. "So, tell the new transfer student about the grounds!"

At this point, they were flying above the Castle. The Gryffindor boy's eyes quickly scanned the ground below them. "Well, there's the courtyard, Astronomy Tower, Gryffindor Tower, the Quidditch Pitch, and we're coming up to the Black Lake now."

 

 

Buckbeak had indeed been flying towards said lake, and soon they were gliding across the gleaming silver surface. Just the mere sight and smell of the water caused an ecstatic smile to bloom across the half mermaid's face, and without a second thought, she confidentiality let go of Buckbeak's feathers and held her arms aloft. Much to Harry's shock as his arms tightened instinctively around her waist.

"What are you doing?!?"

Tula looked over her shoulder at him with an ecstatic grin. "I trust him!"

The Gryffindor looked at her before hesitantly following her lead. Moments later, both teens whooped with joy as they sored across the lake. 

Words to describe the feeling?

Complete and absolute freedom.

The moment the two thirteen year old felt a shift in Buckbeak's wings, Tula's fingers instantly wove themselves back into the Hippogriff's feathers, and Harry wound his arms around the former's waist. When the half mermaid turned and looked at the Gryffindor boy over her shoulder again, giggles bubbling in her throat and succeeding in escaping her lips, the excited gleam combined with the unlimited kindness he found in her dark eyes caused his heart to stutter. And for the umpteenth time since laying eyes on the teal haired girl, the boy's cheeks heated up as he shyly smiled back.

All too soon, Buckbeak started to fly back to the clearing, and they heard a whistle flagging them down. Tula tightened her fingers around Buckbeak's feathers and Harry's arms tightened around her waist as they made their descent back towards Professor Hagrid and their peers. As soon as Buckbeak's talons and hooves touched the ground, praise from both their classmates and their professor greeted them.

"Well done Harry and Tula! And well done Buckbeak!"

After helping them down, Professor Hagrid leaned towards them. "How'm I doin' me first day?"

Harry grinned. "Brilliant, Professor!"

Tula's grin was just as wide as the Gryffindor's. "You're killin' it man!"

While the professor blushed, none of them noticed the platinum blonde Slytherin stalk forward until they heard him speak.

"Yeah you're not dangerous at all are you? Great ugly brute..."

Harry quickly threw an arm in front of Tula as Buckbeak reared up and brought his talon down on Malfoy's arm. The two quickly backed themselves against the tree as Professor Hagrid waved his arms to get the Hippogriff's attention away from his offender, finally resolving to throw a dead ferret in the opposite direction.

"Oi ya silly creature."

Tula pushed past Harry and ran towards where Malfoy laid sprawled on the ground cradling his arm. "It's killed me, it's killed me!"

The half mermaid rolled her eyes. "Oh knock it off, you were the one to provoke him."

Hermione surged forward from the crowd of students. "Hagrid! He has to be taken to the hospital wing!"

Tula looked up from the Slytherin. "I'll take him."

Professor Hagrid shook his head. "I'm the teacher, I should do it."

The teal haired teen shook her head back. "The other students need to know why they can't do what Blondie here just did."

After contemplating over what Tula said, the professor nodded. With no further prompting, the thirteen year old grabbed the neck of Malfoy's uniform before hauling him up. "Let's go Malfoy, he scratched your arm not your leg."

As she dragged the Slytherin out of the clearing, she looked over her shoulder to see Harry watching them leave, and the way he looked at the platinum blonde in her grip was nothing short of disdain. But when Tula smiled at him, his attention was torn away, and he smiled back.

The two of them were silent as they made their ways up the stairs towards the castle with Malfoy occasionally breaking the silence with groans of pain. And after groan number six, the half mermaid's patience ran out. "You do realize that this is your own fault, right?"

The platinum blonde silver blue eyes instantly snapped towards her. "How is this my fault?!"

Tula raised an eyebrow. "Were you not listening when Professor Hagrid said 'You do not want to insult a Hippogriff, it may be the last thing you ever do'?"

The Slytherin scoffed. "That idiot shouldn't be teaching classes in the first place!"

The Hufflepuff rolled her eyes. "Oh like you can do a better job?"

"Merlin no. I have far better things to do then be near those disgusting animals."

Tula stopped and crossed her arms. "And what's that? Being an asshole all damn day?"

She kept talking before Malfoy could get another word in. "And when you think about it, those 'disgusting animals' probably think the same thing about you."

The Slytherin opened his mouth to retort, but when he found no words on his tongue, closed it. Tula smirked triumphantly before uncrossing her arms and continuing up the stairs. The pair was silent once again as they entered the castle and walked through the halls. After a while, the half mermaid noticed out of the corner of her eye that the platinum blond was looking at her.

"You and Potter seemed cozy."

Tula raised an eyebrow in Malfoy's direction. "If you're talking about when we were on Buckbeak, we kind of had to be unless Harry _wanted_ to fall to a certain death... Although based on your facial expression you probably would have preferred if that happened."

The Slytherin boy snorted. "Trust me, if you knew Potter from my point of view, you would have preferred it too."

"Well in that case, I'm glad we don't share the same points of view... What do you have against him anyways?"

He held his scratched arm closer to him. "Several things. His self-righteous nature-"

"Pot, Kettle. Have you met?"

Tula was given dark look, but was otherwise ignored. "The way he sticks his nose in everyone's business, the company he fraternizes with-"

"What's wrong with Ron and Hermione? They're pretty cool."

Whatever the platinum blonde was going to say instantly changed as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Cool?"

It took the half mermaid a moment to realize that it was her slang he was confused about. "Okay? Alright?"

The Slytherin rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't think so if you knew them how I know them."

"And once again I'm happy we don't have the same point of view. Seriously, why do you have to be such an ass towards them?"

Malfoy sneered. "Oh of course, Saint Potter, Weasel, and the mudblood can do no wrong."

Tula stopped dead in her tracks at the offensive term before staring at Malfoy. "Are you fuckin' kidding me?!"

As the Slytherin sputtered in shock, she pursed her lips angrily. "A hundred and twenty eight years ago, America was fighting over whether or not black people like me should be kept as slaves for five years. And ninety-three years after that black people were harassed and hanged just because of the color of their skin or just fighting for their rights as human beings! Twenty-five years later and there's still problems of racial discrimination happening!!! So I don't want to hear it about discriminating against people just because of how far back the magic in their family goes!!!"

By the time the half mermaid finished speaking, her chest was heaving and her hands were shaking in anger. And as the platinum blond boy stared at her with his silver blue eyes wide in shock, she took a deep breath to calm herself down before looking away. "Let's go."

The two once again walked in silence as they continued walking to the hospital wing. And only when it's doors came into sight did she look Malfoy again. "How bad does the scratch hurt?"

The platinum blond looked at her cautiously before looking away and mumbling. "It doesn't hurt that much."

Tula raised an eyebrow, remembering his reaction in the clearing, but decided to chalk it up as him being a drama queen and left it alone.

 

 

As the hospital wing's door's opened, words flew from her mouth before she could stop them. "You know, it's kind of sad. You have so much potential, but you can't even see it."

Malfoy looked at her with surprise. But before he could say anything back, Madam Pomfrey had noticed them and immediately bustled over. "Goodness gracious! What happened?!"

The half mermaid kept her eyes on the Slytherin's face for one more split second before looking at the mediwitch. "An accident in Care of Magical Creatures. Blondie over here didn't listen to instructions."

Madam Pomfrey huffed. "Honestly Mr. Malfoy."

As the much older witch led the platinum blonde to a bed, Tula rocked back and forth on her heels. "Can I go? I left my stuff with the class."

The mediwitch looked at the teal haired teen. "You may, and thank you for bringing him to me when you did."

Smiling in response, the thirteen year old gave Malfoy one last fleeting glance before turning on her heel and making her way towards the doors. "See ya around Blondie."

If he responded, Tula didn't hear it as the hospital wing doors swung shut.

 **Author's Note: So I may or may not be planning to write Marauders Era Fanfics in the near or far future...** **FML :).**

Sofia Carson  **as** Raven Lupin

Tom Holland **as** Milo Lupin

Storm Reid **as** Dinah Black

 **Coming Up Next;** **Tula learns some startling information about one of her new friends, bursts the bubble of the platinum blonde Slytherin crybaby...**

**...and learns just how intense a boggart can be.**

**One more thing before the chapter ends; it may be too early to start this, but who should find out about Tula's mermaid heritage first? Besides Hermione because let's face it that's kind of a given. Or who should she tell first? Tell me what you think, and if it's too early, you can hold your opinion until a couple more chapters in.**

**See you next time!**

**-Wolfy**


	5. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: So I realized I made a mistake in Chapter One. As Hermione has said many,** **_many_ ** **times, you can't apparate onto Hogwarts grounds... So I went back and fixed my mistake.**

**Also yes, I know I'm fudging up the class timeline a little bit... Okay, a lot bit. But I promise that next chapter, if not that then the one after, it will be patched up. Pinky promise!**

**And now...**

**Onward!!!**

As she made her way back to the Forest, Tula thought about what she said to Malfoy. 

_"You have so much potential"._

Did he though? Well, idealistically everyone had the potential to be good and do great things. And in the Hufflepuff's mind, Blondie was no different.

As she mulled over this, she silently snorted to herself. _Why is it that I always seem to come across the problematic kids?_

The half mermaid met her best friends, Killian and Adam, during their first year at Ilvermorny. She and Adam became friends right away, but Killian... Killian had a talent of projecting an aura that was simply terrifying. People went out of their way to avoid him, and while the first month he acted like he didn't care, it was clear that the loneliness was starting to get to him.

So one day the teal haired eleven-year-old sat next to him in the library, and she didn't let his terrifying aura or scathing attitude get to her. Instead, she talked to him like she talked to Adam.

It took her a month to break down the walls that the lonely boy had put up. Mostly due to the fact that they were in the exact same boat come the full moon. Both were creatures of the ocean, but Killian was not a merman. No, instead of a mermaid tale, he had a shark tale.

Tula stopped in her tracks as she realized the reversed similarities between her best friend and the Malfoy boy. Killian believed because of what he is, he was the lowest of the low and didn't deserve what others had. Malfoy, on the other hand, thought that Muggle-borns were the lowest of the low, and didn't deserve what he and other purebloods have.

She rubbed a hand over her face. _Aw shit... here I go again._

The teal haired girl sighed before continuing to make her way outside the castle and back to the clearing. When she got there, she saw that her fellow students had plucked up the courage to approach Buckbeak. Thankfully, none of them had repeated Malfoy's mistake. When he saw that she was back, the hippogriff squawked happily in her direction, to which Tula smiled and waved cheerfully.

When Dinah spotted her, the Gryffindor girl nearly sprinted towards the half-mermaid with an eager expression on her face. "Is he dead?! Did he lose the arm?! Is he dead?!"

The teal haired Hufflepuff blinked in shock at Dinah's apparent bloodlust. "Neptune woman! Chill!"

Professor Hagrid immediately walked over. "Is he alright?"

Tula nodded. "He'll live, it didn't look like Buckbeak broke any skin from here I was standing."

The Professor sighed in relief. "Turn back to page forty-nine of yer book, Dinah'll catch ye up."

Tula followed Dinah to where she was leaning against the rock and did as Professor Hagrid said. The lesson continued with the professor went more in-depth on hippogriffs before they were released back to the castle for lunch.

"Are you sure he wasn't on the verge of death?"

Tula rolled her eyes as she and Dinah made their way back up the stairs and into the castle. "Yes Dinah, I'm sure that Blondie wasn't on the verge of death when he walked into the Hospital Wing." 

"Who wasn't on the urge of death?"

They turned to see Raven and Milo walking towards them, and Dinah eagerly made her way to her friends to recount the story. "Malfoy pissed off the hippogriff in Care of Magical Creatures and got scratched for it!"

The Lupin twins raised an eyebrow at their curly haired friend. "What did you do?"

Dinah pressed her hand to her chest. "Why do you think I did something?"

Milo rolled his eyes. "You're with the Weasley Twins almost all the time. You're usually always involved in situations like this."

The Gryffindor girl shook her head. "I wasn't involved in this situation. But this gorgeous lady over there," She pointed at Tula. "Stopped a fight between Harry and Malfoy by saying they should be setting an example for the younger kids and, quoting her 'not measuring the appendage between their legs'!"

Raven and Milo's identical brown eyes went wide and shot to the teal-haired teen. "You actually said that?!"

Tula couldn't help but laugh at their reactions. "Yup."

"To their faces?"

She nodded. "Everyone else heard it and everyone's faces turned into a lot of different shades of red."

Both of the Lupin Twins' faces looked both impressed and shocked. After some time a small smile spread across Raven's face. "I think you're are going to fit in just fine here."

Tula grinned. "Ah thanks Raven!"

As the four of them made their ways through the halls, the teal-haired teen looked at the trio. "Who are the Weasley twins? I'm guessing that they're related to Ron?"

Milo nodded. "Fred and George. They're Ron's older brothers and have a mischief streak as big and the universe itself. Dinah is as thick as thieves with them."

Said Gryffindor girl grinned. "The Weasel twins have pulled some pranks that would either make you laugh hysterically or humiliate you entirely depending on if you got caught in the crossfire."

The teal-haired Hufflepuff raised an eyebrow. "So you're a prankster?"

 "Yup! This one time..."

Tula laughed at the cappers of Dinah and the Weasley Twins as they entered the Great Hall. Before she could part with the trio, a familiar name from Slytherin table pulled her attention away.

"Does it hurt terribly Draco?"

The teal haired teen stopped in her tracks as the platinum blonde Slytherin shrugged nonchalantly. "It comes and it goes..."

Tula raised an eyebrow before smirking. "Hold on, I need to burst the bubble of Blondie over there."

A huge grin spread across Dinah's face as she followed eagerly, pulling the Lupin twins along with her. "You two are in for a treat!"

"So, I consider myself lucky. Another minute or two, and I could have lost my arm."

The half mermaid stopped behind him and crossed her arms. " _Really?_ "

Draco and the Slytherins that surrounded him instantly turned to face her, but the teal haired teen didn't give anyone room to talk. "At the hospital wing, you said it didn't hurt all that much."

The Slytherin girl who asked Malfoy if his arm hurt or not glared at her. "What does a Hufflepuff know?"

Tula grinned and tilted her head to the side. "Considering _I_ walked him to the Hospital Wing and all that shit, I'd say I know a fair amount."

The Slytherin opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by Malfoy. "Enough Pansy."

Both Tula and the Slytherin Girl, Pansy, looked at the platinum blonde with varying degrees of shock... The former being a little more subtle.

"But Draco-"

He cut her off as he directed his silvery-blue eyes to her. "Tula, was it?"

The teal haired teen smirked. "Tula M'rin, nice to meet 'ya."

"I said it comes and it goes. It didn't hurt that match when we were walking to the Hospital Wing, it hurts a bit more now."

The half mermaid's eyebrows furrowed. "So you have an injury that can easily be fixed by a potion and/or a few spells... and you didn't?"

She crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side. "Seems a little counterproductive don't 'ya think?"

Malfoy opened his mouth to say something else, but Tula cut him off. "Look, it's lunch time and I'm hungry. And since I just called you out on your bullshit, I am walking away and finding something to eat... see 'ya later!"

She turned and began to walk past Dinah and the Lupin Twins, the former grinning hysterically while the two latter watched with the same levels of shock and admiration, before suddenly remembering and whipping back around. "I meant what I said earlier, just so you know."

The Slytherin boy's silver-blue eyes shot to the half-mermaid as she turned around and began walking away. Just as Dinah, Milo, and Raven began to ask what she said earlier and the other Slytherin students began to question Malfoy, a lone student ran into the Great Hall, waving a paper in his hand.

"HE'S BEEN SIGHTED, HE'S BEEN SIGHTED!!"

Everyone's attention went to the boy. "Who?"

"SIRIUS BLACK!!"

The Great Hall immediately exploded with chatter. At the Slytherin Table, Pansy sneered from behind them. "Planning a family reunion Black?"

Dinah immediately whipped around and the Lupin Twins grabbed each arm to stop her before she could charge forward. Struggling, she snarled at the Slytherin girl with complete and absolute venom. "KEEP TALKING PARKINSON AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS!!!"

With the help of her brother, Raven was able to yank the Gryffindor girl back to whisper in her ear. "She's not worth it Di'."

Tula's eyebrows furrowed. "Family reunion?"

Dinah suddenly stilled and didn't look her new teal-haired friend in the eye. "Yeah, my father is Sirius Black, the wizard who killed thirteen people with a single curse."

Once again, Pansy sneered from her seat next to Malfoy. "And You-Know-Who's most loyal servant."

Dinah's eyes snapped to the Slytherin girl before she began to struggle against the Lupin Twins' hold again. "I SWEAR TO MERLIN PARKINSON-"

Tula immediately moved to stand between the enraged girl and the Slytherin Table. "Dinah, don't attack her, it just tells her that she's winning. Also, no one here can blame you for something you had absolutely zero control over, who your parents are included."

The teal-haired thirteen-year-old then turned her eyes to Pansy and pointed to her, dark eyes hard. "You... you are _not_ helping the situation. So either knock that shit off or I'm reportin' you for harassing a fellow student."

And finally, the half-mermaid turned her gaze and her pointer finger at Malfoy. "And you... You seriously need better friends."

Tula turned on her heel and began walking away, relieved to see that the Gryffindor and two Ravenclaws had followed her. It was then she realized that everyone in the Great Hall was looking at them... Her in particular.

"Well colored me impressed."

The Hufflepuff turned and grinned as Milo agreed with his twin. "Harry, Hermione, and Ron are the ones who usually stand up to him, but neither of them had done _that_."

Dinah grinned, but it lacked her usual mirth. "Told you so."

Tula turned to look at her new friend before gently taking her hand. "I meant what I said earlier Dinah, no one here should be able to blame you for something you have no control over."

The Gryffindor girl snorted. "And yet that's exactly what everyone does."

Tula raised an eyebrow. "But do their opinions really matter to you?"

Dinah shook her head. "Besides for pranking, no."

"Exactly. _Fuck_ what other people think, focus on the opinions of the people who matter to you. Okay?"

Dinah smiled. "Thanks, Tula."

The teal-haired girl grinned. "Anytime."

Raven and Milo smiled in thanks as Tula spotted Cedric sitting at the Hufflepuff table. Waving goodbye to her new friends, she made her way over and sat in the spot Cedric had scooted over to vacate. Said boy was beaming with pride as the thirteen-year-old began making her plate. "Well look at you, not even a day here and you're already proving yourself to be a true Hufflepuff."

The teal-haired teen shrugged as she began eating. "I was just trying to stop a fight from happening."

"And that's exactly what you did! And from what I saw, you did it beautifully La-La."

Tula froze in shock at her new nickname before smiling shyly. "Thanks, Cedric."

As she ate, she spotted a copy of the Dailey Prophet in one of her fellow students' hands.

Sirius Black silently screamed maniacally from the front page.

**-Time Skip-**

The wardrobe shook as whatever was inside struggled against its containment. And the group of third years stared cautiously at it as Milo and Raven's father began to speak. "Intriguing, isn't it? Anyone like to venture a guess as to what is inside?"

Tula bit the inside of her cheek as she looked at the shaking piece of furniture. "Isn't that a boggart?"

"Very good Miss M'rin. Now can anyone tell me what a boggart _looks_ like?"

The half-mermaid jumped when Hermione's voice appeared right next to her. "No one knows."

Ignoring Ron's shocked 'When did she get here', the curly-haired Gryffindor continued. "Boggarts are shapeshifters. They take the shape of whatever particular person fears the most. That's what makes them so-"

Professor Lupin nodded. "So terrifying, yes. Luckily, a very simple charm exists to repel a boggart."

He looked back at the wardrobe as it shook again before looking back at his class. "Let's practice it now. Without wands, please... After me, _Riddikulus_."

" _Riddikulous_."

"Very good. A little louder, and very clear. Listen; _Riddikulus_!"

" _Riddikulus_!"

Malfoy sneered from his position on the wall. "This class is ridiculous."

Tula turned and rolled her eyes at the Slytherin boy. "No one asked you Blondie, now shush!"

She ignored whatever attempt he was in the process of making a rebuttal and turned her attention back to class as Professor Remus began talking again. "Very good. Well, so much for the easy part, you see the incantation alone is not enough. What really finishes a boggart is _laughter_. You need to force it to assume a shape you find truly amusing. Let me explain."

He looked towards the back of the class. "Neville, would you join me please?"

The half-mermaid looked at the nervous Gryffindor boy as he seemed to freeze on the spot.

"Come on, don't be shy."

Neville slowly made his way up front until he was standing with Professor Lupin, anxiety practically radiating from him.

"Neville, what frightens you most of all."

He mumbled something that didn't carry out to the rest of the class, or Professor Lupin for that matter. "Sorry?"

"P-Professor Snape."

Chuckles and laughter rippled throughout the class, Even the professor seemed amused. "Frightens us all... And I believe you live with your Grandmother?"

"Y-Yes but I don't want that boggart to turn into her either!"

Tula grimaced. _I know how 'ya feel boy. My Auntie Mera scares the shit outta me too._

Professor Lupin smiled. "It won't... I want you to picture her clothes, _only_ her clothes very clearly in your mind."

The half-mermaid raised an eyebrow. _Whatcha' gettin' at Professor?_

"She carries a red handbag."

"We don't need to hear. As long as you see it, we'll see it. Now when I open that wardrobe, here's what I want you to do."

Professor Lupin moved forward and whispered something into Neville's ear. Whatever he said made the boy look at him with complete shock.

"Can you do that?"

At the Gryffindor boy's shaky nod, the professor took his wand out from the inside of his robes. "Wand at the ready; One, two, three."

The wardrobe opened with a click, and a man Tula recognized from the feast last night stepped out. Even though it wasn't the real Professor Snape, the teal-haired Hufflepuff could see why poor Neville was terrified of the man.

"Think Neville, think."

The boy froze for a split second before pointing his wand at the pseudo-professor. " _Riddikulus_!"

Black robes turned into an ugly green-colored dress, a red handbag appeared in his hand, a fox fur appeared around his neck, and now there was a hat with a large hopefully fake vulture perched on top of it.

The students roared with laughter as the now once intimidating professor looked around in a confused matter as Professor Lupin laughed along with the class. "Wonderful Neville, wonderful! Everyone form a line, Neville to the back."

Deciding to delay what she knew she was going to see when she faced the boggart, Tula quickly made her way to the back of the line as it formed. Malfoy and his goons pushed at people, but moments before the shorter one could push Tula, her wand was out at a speed that she was quite proud of. "Touch me and see what happens boy."

"You don't tell me-"

The platinum blonde Slytherin boy interjected. "Enough Crabb."

Tula's eyebrows furrowed as Malfoy moved to stand behind her. _Who the hell names their kid Crab? Was his Mama craving it when she was carrying him?_

She shrugged to herself and turned back to face the front as Ron walked closer to the boggart. Instantly, it began to change until it became an almost larger than life spider. The half-mermaid winced when she heard the poor redhead whimper with fear.

"What do you think you'll see?"

The teal-haired teen turned and raised an eyebrow at Malfoy. "Why do you want to know?"

He shrugged. "Curiousity."

" _Riddikulus_!"

Tula pursed her lips and looked back to Ron's spider now stumbling around in roller-skates. "I know what I'll see. So trust me when I say you really don't want to know."

"Parvati, next!"

The two watched as the spider turned into a large snake. One point of a wand and a _Riddikulus_ later, Tula grimaced as the snake turned into a large clown jack-in-the-box. "That's what you find funny?!"

"Muggle children play with that?!"

Tula turned to look at Malfoy. "Yeah, but most of them don't look like that."

Harry stepped up next. And the half-mermaid only saw the clown's eyes contract for a split second before the demonic looking jack-in-the-box turned into a dementor. Tula clamped a hand to her mouth when it charged toward the Gryffindor boy, and Professor Lupin was suddenly standing in front of Harry. To the confusion of the class, a white orb replaced the shadowy guard of Azkaban.

" _Riddikulus_!"

A white balloon whizzed through the classroom and over the students' heads before Professor Lupin quickly opened the wardrobe as the boggart flew back to its previous hiding place.

"Right, well, sorry about that. That's enough for today, if you would all like to collect your books at the back of the class, that's the end of the lesson."

The students groaned but otherwise did as they were told. As she followed her fellow students out, she looked over her shoulder back at the classroom. She knew what that was, she knew it all too well.

Professor Lupin was afraid of the full moon.

There were many human/creatures that were forced to change to their creature form on the full moon. So the question is... which one is the professor?

**Author's Note: I forgot to ask this First and Second chapter, but what do you guys think of Tula? Is she realistic enough? What can I do to improve her?**

**Coming up Next: Tula learns how far Malfoy's arrogance can go, makes an agreement with said Slytherin crybaby, meets yet another new friend...**

**And experiences her very first Howler.**

**Also, Tula's wand is an Applewood with Unicorn hair core.**


	6. Chapter 4

"What was that thing Lupin was afraid of?"

Tula pursed her lips as she, Malfoy, and his two goons walked out of the classroom after gathering their stuff. From what she's heard and studied, a good portion of the creatures that transformed during the full moon went through a  _very_ painful endeavor. After she read this, the teal-haired Hufflepuff has never been more grateful that a mermaid's transformation during the full moon was painless.

Given that they were in water of course.

It was the  _exact_ opposite if they weren't.

Whatever full moon affected creature Professor Lupin was, Tula felt like it was her responsibility to protect that secret; being one herself. So, the half-mermaid shrugged as nonchalantly as she could. "How should I know?"

Malfoy tilted his head to the side. "Earlier in the classroom, you looked like you knew  _exactly_ what that thing was."

She raised an eyebrow. "And... what? Since you think I know what that thing Professor Lupin's afraid of is, you expect me to tell you? No offense Blondie, whether or not I actually know what the thing was, it's none of your business."

The teal-haired Hufflepuff looked away and spotted Harry, Hermione, and Ron a couple steps ahead of them, walking close together and talking in hushed tones. Noticing that her attention was no longer on him, Malfoy followed her gaze and spotted his three rivals before smirking. "I know why Potter's afraid of Dementors."

Tula rolled her eyes. "Have you seen those things? I don't blame him for being terrified." She returned her gaze to the back of the Gryffindor boy's head. "Little curious how he found the time to come face-to-face with one though."

She held a hand up when Malfoy opened his mouth to speak. "And 'cause you're a little biased when it comes to Harry and the others, I'll hear it from him instead."

With that, she sped up to leave the Slytherin group behind and catch up with the Gryffindor group. "Hey Gryffindor Three, wait up!"

Harry, Hermione, and Ron turned at the sound of her voice, the bespectacled boy's cheeks flushed pink as she fell into step beside them. "Tula."

The half-mermaid smiled at Harry before turning towards Ron. "So... spiders huh?"

Ron visibly shuddered before shaking his head. "Eight-legged demons from hell."

A secretive grin spread across Harry's face. "There was an incident last year that we're not supposed to talk about."

The redhead glared at his best friend silently, much to Tula and Hermione's amusement. The former chuckled quietly to herself before turning to look at Harry. "Are you okay? You seemed pretty shaky back there..."

Harry's cheeks turned pink and he quickly looked away. "I'm fine."

Tula stared at him assessingly for a while before looking away. "I seriously don't blame you though, those things are gonna give me nightmares for  _weeks_!"

Hermione shook her head. "And that was just a boggart. A real dementor is  _much_ worse."

The teal-haired girl's eyes went wide. "Dare I ask?"

Hermione pursed her lips before looking at Harry, who's cheeks turned a little pinkier. Seeing this Tula shook her head. "You don't have to tell if you don't want to."

He shook his head. "It's fine... During the trip here, Dementors stopped the train to look for Sirius Black. For some reason I... passed out."

Tula's eyebrows shot up. "You  _passed out_?"

At this point, the poor boy's cheeks were a light shade of red. "Y-Yeah."

The half-mermaid winced and patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Like I said, I don't blame you. Whoever decided to place creatures that are pretty much demons at a school full of children is an absolute  _idiot_."

Hermione snorted. "Agreed... A bit off topic, but I wish I could have had a turn with a boggart-"

"What would it have been for you?" Ron sniggered. "A piece of homework that only got a nine out of ten?"

The curly haired Gryffindor huffed, causing Tula to raise an unimpressed eyebrow. "No offense to ya man, but I've roomed with someone who keeps a spider as a pet. So some would find your fear just as ridiculous."

As Ron's cheeks turned pink and looked away, Hermione looked at her with a grateful smile. "What's your next class Tula?"

The half-mermaid tugged her schedule out of her cloak's pocket and glanced at it. "Potions."

Hermione smile widened ever so slightly. "Perfect, so do we."

Tula followed the three Gryffindors and smiled as Ron and Hermione took back and forth jabs at each other. When they reached the ground floor of the castle, she saw Harry looked at her nervously. "T-Tula?"

"Yeah?"

The raven haired boy fidgeted. "Y-you don't have to answer if you don't want to... But what do you think you would have seen?"

Tula felt herself freeze.  _He did say I didn't have to answer... But they all technically shared what they saw, or would have seen, with me, so how's that fair? I didn't share what I know I would have saw with Blondie, so that's not really fair either._  "You don't want to know."

Harry nodded his head in understanding as Ron turned back to Hermione teasingly. "Still think you would have gotten a nine out of ten homework assignment."

The curly haired Gryffindor rolled her eyes, albeit playfully though. During the remainder of the walk to the potions classroom, Tula and Harry watched in amusement as Ron and Hermione went back to arguing with each other all the way down to the dungeons. Hermione separated from them to sit a table farther away with Neville while Tula followed the boys to their own table. After Professor Snape explained the potion they would be working on and its properties, Tula, Harry, and Ron got to work and were in relative peace for some time until the door loudly, and obviously, creaked open. 

And in walked Malfoy, oozing with swagger.

Chatter broke out in the classroom, and the half-mermaid recognized the girl from earlier that Dinah was ready to fight, Pansy. "How does your arm feel now Draco?"

Malfoy looked up to see the teal-haired teen looking at him. Tula raised an eyebrow before going back to work on her potion. She vaguely heard his answer, something along the lines of 'It feels fine', but payed no attention. It was only when the stool next to hers scraped against the ground did she look up just in time to see Malfoy set his cauldron up next to hers.

Insteading of commenting, she returned her focus on her potion. Evidently this wasn't the reaction he was hoping for, because out of the corner of her eye, Tula saw the platinum blonde Slytherin smirk. "Sir, sir I'll need help cutting up these daisy roots, because of my arm-"

Professor Snape didn't even look in their direction. "Weasley cut up Malfoy's roots for him."

The red-haired Gryffindor went brick red. "There is nothing wrong with your arm." He hissed at the smirking Slytherin. "Don't you remember when Tula here exposed you in the Great Hall?"

Malfoy's smirk froze and he didn't look at the half-mermaid. "You heard Professor Snape, Weasel; cut up these roots."

Tula's eyes narrowed as Ron grabbed his knife, pulled Malfoy's roots towards him, and began to chop them roughly, so they were all different sizes.

Which made the platinum blonde look like the cat who caught the canary to put it lightly.

"Professor, Weasley's mutilating my roots sir."

The shadow-like Professor approached their table, stared down his hooked nose at the roots, then gave Ron an unpleasant smile from beneath his long, greasy black hair. "Change roots with Malfoy, Weasley."

"But sir-"

" _Now_."

The red-head shoved his quarter way beautifully cut roots across the table at Malfoy before taking up the knife again just as the Slytherin spoke again, his voice full of malicious laughter. "And, sir, I'll need the shrivelfig skinned."

This time, the potions professor turned his look of pure loathing to Harry. "Potter,  _you_ can skin Malfoy's shrivelfig."

The teal-haired thirteen-year-old looked at where Harry was now angrily skinning the shrivelfig before looking back at the platinum blonde Slytherin. "You little shit."

As Malfoy turned to her, this time seeming more amused than shocked at her harsh language, a disbelieving chuckle escaped her lips as she shook her head. "You're enjoying this  _way_ too much."

He smirked. "I can't deny that my injury comes with benefits."

Tula raised an eyebrow. "You mean the injury that's not even that bad which means you don't need that cast which means you can do your own damn potion work?"

The smirk seemed sharper now. "The very same injury that keeps flaring up every now and then, yes."

At that point, Harry was done with Malfoy's shrivelfig and the Gryffindor angrily flung it back across the table towards the Slytherin. When Tula raised an eyebrow in disapprovement, he merely winked before turning back to the worktable. "Weasley, slice my caterpillars for me."

Rolling her eyes, the teal-haired Hufflepuff let her eyes wander around the room while she worked. A few cauldrons away, Neville was panicking and panicking hard.

Needless to say, Professor Snape was not impressed.

"Orange, Longbottom." Snape ladled some up and allowed it to splash back into the poor boy's cauldron for everyone to see. "Orange. Tell me, boy, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours? Didn't you hear me say, quite clearly, that only one rat spleen was needed? Didn't I state plainly that a dash of leech juice would suffice? What do I have to do to make you understand, Longbottom?"

Tula felt her hand clench around her knife at the sight of poor Neville pink, trembling, and honestly on the verge of tears. _What the fuck?_

Hermione tried to chime in. "Please sir, please, I could help Neville put in the right-"

Snape's voice was cold. "I don't remember asking you to show off, Miss Granger." The Gryffindor girl went as pink as Neville. "Longbottom, at the end of this lesson we will feed a few drops of this potion to your toad and see what happens. Perhaps this will encourage you to do it properly."

_What. The actual._ _**Fuck** _ _?!_

Malfoy's voice broke through the angry tide that was quickly becoming her thoughts. "M'rin?"

The half-mermaid looked to see her tablemates looked at her with varying degrees of curiosity and concern. She quickly loosened her grip on her knife and gave them a sheepish grin. "Sorry, I got distracted." Tula looked to where the potions teacher had moved on to his next victim to criticize. "Now I can see why his boggart is the Professor."

Ron snorted as he turned back to his - or was it still Malfoy's? - work. "You probably haven't seen the worst of it yet."

Harry's eyes stayed on her, to which she smiled at reassuringly. Malfoy looked up from adding the ingredients Ron and Harry cut/skinned for him into his potion, and narrowed his eyes in their direction. "So Potter, did you hear that Black has been sighted?"

The Gryffindor looked up at the platinum blonde with an unamused expression. "I was in the Great Hall with everyone else Malfoy; so yes, I heard."

Malfoy's eyes began shining malevolently. "Thinking of trying to catch him single-handedly?"

"Yeah, that's right."

The teal-haired thirteen-year-old looked at Harry in shock. "Say what now?!"

He had barely turned to look at her and shake his head when the Slytherin began talking again. "Of course, if it was me, I'd have done something before now. I wouldn't be staying in school like a good boy, I'd be out there looking for him."

Ron snarled at Malfoy. "What are you talking about, Malfoy?"

The redhead was promptly ignored. "Don't you  _know_ , Potter?"

Harry's ice blue eyes narrowed. "Know what?"

Malfoy sneeringly laughed. "Maybe you'd rather not risk your neck... want to leave it to the dementors, do you? But if it was me, I'd want revenge. I'd hunt him down myself."

Hearing enough, Tula kicked the platinum blonde's stool. "Knock it off."

The mean smile stayed on Malfoy's face when he turned to look at her. "What?"

Tula's eyes hardened as she looked him dead in the eye in such a matter that made the mean smile slowly, but surely, shrivel up. "You know exactly what, so stop trying to make him do something stupid. And stop trying to paint yourself as a bad-ass, do you want me to remind you how you reacted after you provoked Buckbeak? Now I'm only going to say this one more time; Knock. It. Off."

She looked away and went back to work on her potion. After that, the four tablemates worked quietly until the end of class. And as promised, after a majority of the class turned in their potions and cleaned their cauldrons, Snape strode over to Neville, the poor boy cowering behind his cauldron.

"Everyone gather 'round, and watch what happens to Longbottom's toad. If he has managed to produce a Shrinking Solution, it will shrink to a tadpole. If, as I don't doubt, he has done it wrong, his toad is likely to be poisoned."

Tula found herself holding her breath with the Gryffindor students, with the Slytherins looking excited, as Snape picked up Neville's toad in his left hand and dipped a spoon into the boy's now green potion. After Snape trickled a few drops down the amphibians throat, a moment of silence followed, which was broken by a small pop. The Gryffindors and the lone Hufflepuff student applauded when a tadpole wriggled in their potions professor's palm. Snape looked sour as he pulled a small bottle from his robes and poured a few drops on the tadpole, restoring the toad to its original size.

"Five points from Gryffindor." Immediately, the applause died horrible deaths while the smiles quickly made themselves scarce as Snape began speaking again. "I told you not to help him, Miss Granger. Class dismissed."

The half-mermaid stared with mute shock as the crowd of students dispersed to gather their things.  _What in the name of Neptune just happened?! Is he really allowed to act like that?!_

"Tula?"

At the sound of her name, the thirteen-year-old turned to see Harry looking at her with a mix of understanding and concern across his face. "Are you alright?"

She looked around the room to see it was almost completely empty save for a few students who were finishing up cleaning their cauldrons. Sighing, she wrestled a smile onto her face when she turned back towards Harry. "Yeah I'm fine..." Her expression turned sour as she replayed the potions lesson. "Just fine."

The Gryffindor had a knowing look on his face that Tula saw as she walked back to their work table to gather her things. "You didn't have to wait for me you know."

He shrugged. "I'm not in a hurry."

Tula gave him a small but grateful smile as she shouldered her bag. The two remained silent as they walked out of the classroom, and remained so as they walked up the stairs and walking down the corridor when Harry looked at her, the knowing look returning. "You can say what you want now."

She  _did not_  need to be told twice. "What in the  _ever loving_   _fuck_  was that?!? Does he really get away with treating his students like shit!?"

The bespectacled boy sighed. "It's worse if you're not that great with potions like Neville is. Trust me, I know. And it's not just Gryffindors he's prejudiced against! You should see how he treats the Hufflepuff students, my friend Sue has countless stories at this point!!"

Tula pursed her lips. "As if I wasn't alreadythinking about making an exception to my 'always respect the teacher rule'."

The Gryffindor boy grinned. "If it'd be anything like how you chewed out me and Malfoy, I'd pay to see that."

She mockingly pouted. "I was not chewing you out... I was stopping a fight from happening."

Harry shrugged just as mockingly. "Whatever will help you sleep tonight."

She giggled before smiling sympathetically. "Look, if you need help with potions, I can tutor you. I was pretty decent with potions back at Ilvermorny."

Harry looked at her with surprise. "R-really?"

The half-mermaid shrugged. "Yeah, with a professor like that, you seem like you need all the help you can get."

He smiled. "That would be-"

"M'rin."

The two looked ahead of them to see Malfoy staring at them with a cold expression. "Can I have a word with you?"

Tula raised an eyebrow before slowly nodding. "Sure?" She looked at Harry and smiled. "Let me know when you want to start tutoring, kay?"

The raven-haired Gryffindor looked away from glaring at Malfoy to return the teal-haired thirteen-year-old's smile. "Definitely. I'll see you later then?"

With her smile still on her face, she nodded. "For sure."

Casting one more heated glare at the Slytherin boy, Harry continued past him and down the hall while continuously stealing glances at the teal-haired 'Puff.

Once he was fully out of sight, Tula turned to Malfoy. "What's up?"

The Slytherin's silver-blue eyes assessed her quietly for a few moments before speaking. "Earlier today when you were screaming at me, what did you mean by people like  _you_?"

Tula raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "You serious right now?"

Malfoy pursed his lips. "I  _meant_  were you talking about muggles or wizards?"

Her face saddened before looking away from the platinum blonde. "There was no one that the American Civil War didn't affect. Wizards, No-Majs, everyone."

The half-mermaid sighed before looking back at Malfoy. "Why?"

A tiny but secretive smirk spread across his lips. "I'm curious to learn more." As if remembering something, his face scrunched in confusion. "No-Majs?"

Tula's lips tugged up into a small grin. "No-magic."

"Ah, muggles."

The half-mermaid nodded before looking at Malfoy assessingly. To which he raised an amused eyebrow at. "Yes?"

"Can I ask why you're suddenly interested in American warfare?"

The smirk returned more secretive and wider. "As I said before, curiosity. And don't think too much of it, I'm only interested in how wizards and witches were affected."

"Well now I have to add how muggles were affected in the curriculum."

He rolled his eyes but nonetheless offered a hand to her. "So does that mean we have a deal, M'rin?"

Tula looked at his hand briefly before looking him straight in the eye. "On one condition... You stop the bullshit with your arm."

Malfoy's jaw clenched. "Fine."

Tula smiled and took his offered hand. "Then yes, we have a deal."

They shook on it, and the platinum blonde smirked. "Splendid." He indicated down the corridor with his 'good' hand. "Shall we?"

The teal-haired teen rolled her eyes playfully. "If you're insistin'."

Tula and Malfoy walked down the corridor to the Great Hall, and before they separated to go to their respective tables, the former turned to the latter. "Just let me know when ya wanna start and we'll work somethin' out."

The Slytherin inclined his head towards her with a smirk. "As you wish."

Thinking that was the end of it for now, Tula turned away and began walking to the Hufflepuff table. It wasn't. And the half-mermaid was stopped by the platinum blonde grabbing her hand, lifting it to his lips, and pressing a kiss to it.

"Until then."

With a cheeky grin, he turned and walked back to the Slytherin table. Tula stared after him in shock for a while before reality kicked in and quickly made her way to Hufflepuff table. Of course, she was greeted with Cedric with an absolute  _shit-eating_  grin on his face. To which Tula scowled at as she sat down.

"Not a damn word Diggory."

The older Hufflepuff cackled and shook his head. "I didn't say anything."

"Yeah but you were thinking it."

Cedric chortled and began filling his plate. "So, how'd your lessons go?"

Tula began roughly shoveling food onto her plate. "Professor Lupin is a bad-ass, but what  _the fuck_  is Professor Snape's problem?!"

Cedric smiled knowingly. "All anyone knows is that he was a grudge and it's  _bad_."

Tula snorted. "Clearly." An owl screech distracted her, and the teal-haired Hufflepuff smiled when she recognized her friend Killian's Short-eared owl, Astrid, fly through the hall and land near her plate. "Hey girl, long time no see!"

Astrid affectionately nipped at the half-mermaid's finger, just like she used to back when Tula, Killian, and Adam hung out during school and during the summer. She looked at the two letters the amber-eyed bird delivered to her and smiled when she recognized Killian's handwriting. But when she opened the letter, her eyebrows furrowed.

**_I'm sorry, she made me._ **

**_-Killi_ **

She looked at the second letter, and her eyes widened.

_Oh shit._

At Tula's silence, Cedric looked over and froze when he saw the unopened letter.

Staring back up at them from the table was a bright red Howler.

"La-La?"

The half-mermaid blinked slowly. "Yeah?"

"Run."

Tula grabbed the Howler and darted up from Hufflepuff Table before sprinting out of the Great Hall. She tried to get as far away from any student as she could, but it was in vain as she felt the letter rapidly heating up in her hands. Knowing it was now or catching on fire, the teal-haired Hufflepuff opened the Howler before she came to a full stop.

_**"TULA NERISSA M'RIN, WHY WOULD YOU LEAVE WITHOUT SAYIN' GOOD-BYE?!"** _

She rolled her eyes when she recognized the voice of her late mother's sister... who has a very,  _very_ long history of being dramatic and quite frankly bat-shit crazy. She meant well of course, and there was nothing more important to her than family, she just had a  _very_ loud way of showing it.

**_"I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME! THIS IS BETRAYAL..... BETRAYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAALLL!"_ **

**_"DAMMIT MERA LEAVE GUPPY ALONE!"_ **

Tula grinned when she heard her Uncle Kaldur's voice, her mother and aunt's little brother. There were faint sounds of struggling before her uncle's voice took over the Howler, thankfully at a lower volume.

**_"Tula Baby have fun at school, ignore your auntie you know she's crazy. Stay in touch, and I'll try to reign Mera in. And Killian I apologize for my sister's crazy-ass."_ **

The teal haired Hufflepuff grinned when she heard her best friend's voice faintly reply. _Ah, that's what Killian meant by 'I'm sorry'._

Before the Howler ripped itself up like it usually did at the end of a message, the thirteen-year-old heard her aunt in the background.

**_"BETRAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYAAAAAAALLL!"_ **

With that, the letter ripped itself to shreds and fell to the floor.

"What the bloody hell was that?!"

The half-mermaid turned to see Dinah, The Lupin Twins, Harry, and a red-headed girl staring at her with wide, fearful eyes. She pursed her lips before looking back at the ashy remnants. "That would be the force of nature known as my Auntie Mera." Sighing through her nose, she turned to the group of now-friends with a smile. "On that note, how's your guys' night goin' so far?"

Raven grinned back. "Fine thank you." She indicated to the redhead that was next to her. "Tula this is the other friend we were telling you about earlier, Sue Varris."

The red-haired girl, Sue, walked closer to the teal-haired thirteen-year-old and offered her a hand with a grin. "So you're the girl who put Malfoy in his place in front of most of the school, it's nice to finally meet you!"

Tula grinned back before accepting the offered hand. "Nice to meet you too." The half-mermaid noticed that Sue's canary-yellow lined robs were identical to hers. "You're a Hufflepuff?"

Sue looked down at her robes before looking back at the half-mermaid. "Yeah, sorry I wasn't there last night. It's a tradition for Dinah, Raven, Hermione and I to have a sleepover in whatever dorm is next in our rotation. This year it was Gryffindor Tower."

The teal-haired thirteen-year-old smiled, remembering the multiple times throughout the last school year she, Killian, and Adam would sneak out of their respective dorm rooms to have sleep-overs in whoever's dorm was next in the rotation. "No worries. My friends and I back at Ilvermorny used to do the exact same thing."

Sue grinned and the group of thirteen-year-olds made their way back to the Great Hall. Just as Tula could see the doors and hear the chatter, Harry appeared at her side with a playful look on his face. "So your middle name's Nerissa..."

The half-mermaid raised a playful eyebrow and crossed her arms. "If that's how we're gonna play this, what's  _your_  middle name?"

Some of the playfulness turned to shyness as his cheeks turned pink. "It's James."

"Well then  _James_ , want to start those extra potion lessons in say... 'bout a week?"

He returned her grin with a smile of his own. "Sounds perfect,  _Nerissa_."

Unbeknownst to them; Dinah, Sue, Raven, and Milo were watching them with pleasantly surprised expressions. Well, Sue and the Lupin Twins at least, Dinah was watching the conversing pair with a grin on her face so large it could very well be considered terrified.

"Yes... Just yes."

**Author's Note:** **I'm just going to say this now; yes this is a love triangle fic, Tula x Harry and Tula x Draco. If you don't like that then don't read. Other than that, I have a few other couples in mind that I'm excited to share with you guys in later chapters.**

**Also Dinah is probably going to be the captain of the Tula x Harry ship 😁. I haven't really figured out a ship name for them yet, or for Tula x Draco for that matter. If you guys have any suggestions please let me know 😊❤.**

Sophie Turner  **as** Sue Varris

**Also for any of the readers here who are Snape fans... I adore the sassy git, but I adore Remus Lupin even more. And Snape outing him as a werewolf at the end of POA was petty at best and absolutely evil at worst. But for the most part I'm going to try, and probably fail, to portray him in a neutral light.**

**Coming up Next; Tula continues to get to know her new friends, explores Hogwarts' Black Lake, and meets the aquatic locals.**


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